The George Municipality intends making a contractor appointment for the raising of the Garden Route dam wall and spillway by the end of the month (March 2018), provided no appeals are received within the statutory 14-day appeal period after tenderers have been notified of the adjudication outcome.

“After the many delays we have experienced, we are hopeful that we will have a contractor on site by the latest May 2018,” said Municipal Manager Mr Botha.

The completed raised dam wall and spillway will increase the storage capacity of the Garden Route Dam by about 25% to 12.5 million cubic metres, providing an overall increase of almost 11% to George’s total available raw water resources. In addition to the dam, George’s current raw water supply infrastructure includes the Kaaimans and Malgas river pumping schemes, an ultra-filtration plant and three equipped boreholes. The filtration plant and boreholes are considered alternative water sources for when, according to the Drought Management Plan, the Garden Route Dam level drops to below 80%.

The municipality has completed the procurement processes and contractors that submitted valid tenders will be notified of the tender adjudication outcome shortly, after which a two-week appeal period applies. If there are no appeals the successful contractor should receive a letter of appointment by the end of March 2018. After receiving a letter of appointment, the contractor must comply with certain contractual requirements – including a contract guarantee, insurance, health and safety plan, provisional programme – before any physical work can commence on site.

The project includes the raising of the spillway (the spillway is the structure that releases flood water so that water does not overtop or even damage the dam wall) by 2,5 metres and the raising of the actual dam earth embankment wall by 1,5 metres. There are various works associated with these components including a concrete floor behind the spillway wall, additional rip-rap (the rocks packed against the dam wall to prevent water scour), rock anchors, a drainage channel etcetera.

The project will cost an estimated R25 million, of which R13.5 million was provided by the National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) in 2010. The George Municipality will fund the shortfall, but there have been engagements with the national department to increase its funding contribution to allow for real construction cost escalation since the initial funds were granted.

Considering normal weather conditions, public and builders’ holidays and no major unforeseen circumstances, the construction period is estimated at 50 weeks to a year. Construction can go ahead with the dam at its current high level of 95%, but may require the use of a coffer dam as the construction of the spillway is directly affected.

The raising of the Garden Route Dam spillway has been part of the George Municipality’s bulk raw water resource plan since it was finalised in 2006 to address the city’s short, medium and long-term needs. A Water Use License (WUL) application was submitted to the national Department of Water and Sanitation as a priority project in December 2008, but was reprioritised during the 2009 drought when emergency drought funding made it possible to immediately implement two of the city’s other planned projects – the Malgas River Pumping Scheme and the Ultrafiltration Plant. Meanwhile, various legislative requirements delayed the licence until it was finally clarified in June 2015. Only once the WUL had been issued could the procurement process commence for the appointment of a dam engineer for this class of works – who in turn had to complete an extended design process which required additional approval per the DWS Dam Safety requirements and included a project model constructed according to the dam engineers design, and the proposed system modelled, before the final DWS approval was obtained – only then allowing the George Municipality to go ahead with the construction procurement, which is now being finalised.

It is with thanks to Nikki Weimar- a Senior Economist of Nedbank, that we are able to provide you with the following presentation. Thank you Nikki! At the Chamber’s Budget Speech networking session today, Nikki presented an interesting and insightful overview of the political and subsequent economic history of SA since 1994. Nikki concluded the morning session with clear and comprehensible information regarding the current economic situation. Those who attended the morning session were enthralled by Nikki and her ability to interpret and convey the information in a succinct manner.

The GO GEORGE bus service will be making temporary changes to certain routes to accommodate the Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge (OCC) taking place on Sunday 18 February 2018. Your kind cooperation with sharing this information with your staff will be much appreciated.

Sections of York Street and Park Road (behind the Eden Meander shopping centre) will be closed, resulting in rerouting of the Rosemoor route and the Pacaltsdorp routes coming into town via York Street, as well as one-direction service on the Denneoord and City Loop routes.

Normal route up to Stanmar Motors, right into PW Botha Boulevard, left into Rand Street, left into Hope Street, right into York Street at circle – normal route to CBD. Return route will follow same diversion until it reaches Stanmar Motors, turning left towards Pacaltsdorp and normal from there onwards.

Alternative stops: For passengers who normally use the Hope 111 and Discovery 114 stops in York Street, please use York B 110 (instead of Hope 111) and Main 113 (instead of Discovery 114), around the corner from your usual stops.

Route 53 Rosemoor – CBDSunday 18 Feb, 06:00 – 13:00

Departing from the Garden Route Mall, this route will travel via Knysna Road, thus skipping the two Eden Meander stops 20 and 21 in Park Road, turn left into St George’s Road at CTM, and right into Park Road, following the normal route through Protea Park and Rosemoor to town. Passengers normally using these two closed stops, are advised to use the Rosemoor stop at the Garden Route Mall.

Routes 56 Denneoord and 13 City LoopSaturday from 15:00 – 11:00 on Sunday

Due to single-lane traffic for preparation and practice purposes, these two routes will only follow the forward (clockwise) route during this time.

Delays

Delays must be expected on all routes, due to single lane traffic from 15:00 on Saturday 17 February (for preparation and practice runs), until 13:00 on Sunday 18 February 2018. GO GEORGE advises passengers to take an earlier bus to ensure being on time for work.

Minimal disruption of traffic is expected, thanks to single-lane traffic being instituted for most of the marathon route and minimal road closures. Motorists are kindly requested to be patient and alert when driving behind buses, since there will not be a lane available to overtake buses stopping at bus stops.

Passengers are most welcome to phone the GO GEORGE Call Centre on 0800 044 044 ahead of time for help with alternative trip planning.

George Business Chamber Chairman moving on

The CEO of the George Business Chamber has announced that Dr Willie Cilliers has resigned as Chairperson of the George Business Chamber in order to dedicate his time as Chairperson of the AHI for the Western Cape. His role will be focussed on extending the valuable work done at the George Business Chamber in developing entrepreneurs, assisting with the establishment of new Business Chambers throughout the Western Cape Province, supporting existing Chambers in the province and the creation of an entrepreneurial help line and support services for new as well as existing businesses.

Dr Cilliers has been involved in the George Business Chamber for the past 10 years of which he was the Chairperson for the past 5 years. In this time, Dr Cilliers has raised the bar in terms of business support and has featured as a prominent leader in terms of the various projects that have been undertaken. His leadership has resulted in the George Business Chamber achieving the National Award as “Business Chamber of the Year” in 2014 and 2016. His influence, and forward thinking, has recognised the necessity to create an Inclusive Economy in the region. Dr Cilliers will provide a Media Release pertaining to his plans for future economic Development.

The George Business Chamber Board has elected Dr Dennis Farrell as the acting chairperson of the George Business Chamber until the formal voting of a new Chairperson takes place at the 2018 AGM which will be held in May. Dr Farrell has held various senior positions in business, and has received accolades for his leadership, business contributions as well as an International honourable mention for his approach, leadership and management of Shared Services (Business Proficiency). He is a director and co-owner of a George based Business and People Advisory company and is currently a director on the Board of the George Business Chamber.

We wish to thank Dr Willie Cilliers for his dedication and commitment to the George Business Chamber, our affiliates and the business community at large. We wish him success with his future endeavours and are looking forward with great anticipation to the future offerings of the AHi to all Chambers in the Western Cape Province.

Kind Regards and Chamber Greetings,

Ingrid Cronje
CEO- George Business Chamber NPC

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